Solar Energy: Inspection and Risks

If the home is equipped with solar energy in some form: The systems can only be visually inspected for aesthetic defects and installation. The functioning and energy production of the appliances cannot be examined, and you, as the new owner, will have to experience them in practice.

• Solar energy is energy from the sun in the form of heat and light. This sustainable energy is available to humanity indefinitely, and its use does not harm the environment or the possibilities for future generations.
• Solar panels on your house: always interesting!

• If any defects are noted in the installation of the solar panels on the roof, the installation needs to be improved. We recommend contacting the supplier.
• If any defects are found at the (roof) penetrations, this poses an increased risk of water ingress (and thus leakage) with potential consequential damage to the home. These defects should be repaired promptly.
• The frame on which the panels are mounted is (partly) held in place by ballast tiles . These tiles belong in a frame and should not come into contact with or rest on the bitumen roof covering . If this is not the case, we recommend removing the tiles from the roof covering where necessary, or installing rubber tile supports underneath the tiles.

• Installation work is often disastrous! This is the biggest cause of fires.
• The fire hazard stems from the smallest and cheapest component of the system: the connectors that connect the panels and the extension cables on the roof. These are called MC4 connectors.
• The MC4 connector is actually a perfectly good connector designed for the application it is used for: connecting solar panels to each other.
• The problem is that not every installer installs the plugs correctly.
• The conclusion is that solar panels pose less of a fire hazard than is generally stated. Of course, as with other devices, there is minimal risk.
• The real problem lies in the inexperience and ignorance of the installer.
• Roof-mounted systems pose a greater risk due to heat and lack of ventilation beneath the panels = urban legend!
• During a building inspection , these risks will of course be checked.

Many people, including unfortunately inexperienced installers, underestimate the voltage and power of solar panels. The average PV system on a Dutch house consists of 12 panels, which together generate a voltage of almost 400 volts and a power of 4000 watts. With this voltage and power, every connection needs to be perfect, not just perfect.